What's Between Us
by spittingllama7856
Summary: Sometimes it doesn't matter if you're the most helpful, kind person in the world if you're not willing to let someone else take care of you for a change. Harry learned that the hard way, and lost the one man he loved because of it. Angst, Draco/Harry, Muggle AU.


Stacked with/Written for: Summer Bingo; Sky's the Limit; Flouting Regulations

Individual Challenge(s): Short Jog; Tissue Warning; Themes & Things A - Truth (Y)

Representation(s): GSRM characters/relationship

Space Address (Prompt): 3C - Hail

Word Count: 1015

A/N: Angst ahead. Oh joy! Muggle AU, Draco/Harry.

* * *

The sky was a dark blanket over them, ashen clouds giving way to sleet and hail which pounded down on the roof of their car. It was the middle of summer, but there was hail, which halted their usual summer activities. They sat in silence as they drove down the road, Harry trying to be careful not to speed or turn too quickly. As much as he wanted to get the car back into the garage and get away from Draco, he couldn't just ignore the fact that it could get them in a wreck.

That would make it the worst day he'd had in the history of bad days.

They had been at a stoplight, a tense silence between himself and Draco, when Draco told him. They hadn't spoken to each other since Draco had lashed out at him during lunch after a morning spent at the beach together. The beach was Draco's favorite place. Harry could usually ask what was wrong when Draco snapped, then they could hug each other and be okay.

But that didn't happen.

"I'm not in love with you anymore," Draco said out of nowhere, tonelessly, snapping him out of his thoughts.

_Oh_. Harry felt something inside of him shatter, from both the meaning of the words and the detached way they were spoken. It was as if Draco had reduced him to the same level as everyone else, like he didn't even matter.

He hadn't even _looked_ at Harry while he said it. Harry couldn't believe it, mindlessly driving forward when the light turned green. He glanced at his lover, taking note of how the dim light still made Draco's hair turn white when it hit a certain way. Harry had always loved to see that. He could imagine the impassive mask on Draco's face, and could partially see it in the reflection in the window. But he was leaning his chin on his hand, watching outside as the hail fell, steady in its pace.

Harry turned his eyes back on the road, suddenly acutely aware of the damned sand between his toes, the dried sunscreen on his neck, and the feeling of salt on his skin. He tapped his finger on the steering wheel as they neared their home, unable to stop thinking about how he only ever visited the beach for Draco, but now _this_? He hated the beach, every single thing about it, but all of it was worth it to see Draco content and happy. It was all he ever wanted, yet all those hours spent vacuuming sand from the car only amounted to _this_.

"Aren't you going to say something?" Draco asked after minutes in total silence, sounding irritated.

"Clearly, what I'm feeling doesn't matter to you, so why bother?" he said shortly, not able to help but snap back at Draco. He was so . . . so _angry_. How could Draco do this to him? And in the _car_, of all places?

"This is _exactly _why I can't be with you anymore," Draco retorted. Harry glanced at him, at his slightly furrowed brows and his downturned lips. Lips which he'd kissed more times than he could ever recount. Draco shook his head, letting out a frustrated sigh and staring out the window again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked, anger flaring. He wanted to stop the car and start yelling, to at least be able to _see _Draco as the knife was pushed deeper and deeper into his heart with each word Draco spoke.

_Why not?_ Harry thought, turning on his turn signal and parking in front of someone else's house in their neighborhood.

"Just—just _this_, Harry!" Draco gestured wildly between them and the car, as if angry with the whole situation. "It's always _something_!"

"You mean pulling over so I can actually talk to you about this? Because you so selfishly decided to tell me while I'm driving?" Harry yelled, feeling the vein in his neck throbbing as he did so. His hands tightened on the steering wheel.

"No! You always just focus on some little thing—right now it's the car. And if _I'm _upset, let's talk about it. But if you are, God forbid I even ask what's wrong!" Draco replied, controlling his temper much more than Harry was, rubbing his forehead and taking a deep breath.

"Why do you even want to know what's wrong? It never even _matters_—okay? It's my job to take care of _you_, not the other way around. And you shouldn't even care! You don't love me anymore, remember?" Harry replied, voice getting softer as he continued speaking. He felt his eyes burning with tears, but he forced them back.

"Harry, I loved you for years. _Of course_ I cared. _Of course_ I wanted to know. Relationships don't work like that. I hated to see you upset, especially because you wouldn't let me help. Do you know how much that hurt?" Draco said tiredly, sadness in his grey eyes. They turned silver in the moonlight, Harry remembered, loving and hating the memories of nights spent in the backyard, laying on their backs and looking at the stars.

The sound of the hail on the car roof was the only thing that kept Harry from breaking completely. The sound fluctuated in all the right ways, calming him down enough as he listened to it, almost enjoying the sound.

He didn't know what to say. He never realized how much he'd hurt Draco.

"Do you want—" he took a deep breath, eyes stinging. He pushed his glasses up and rubbed his face before pinching the bridge of his nose. He stared at the dashboard, windshield wipers working against the hail as he asked, "What do you want to do about us?"

"Nothing," Draco replied softly. Harry bit his lip, looking up at Draco for just a moment before he nodded. He nodded again, as if to reassure himself that he was fine, turned the key in the ignition, and pulled back onto the road. The hail had stopped, leaving only the sound of Harry's shuddering breaths between them.


End file.
